Air Kiribati
|
|||||||
| Founded | 1 April 1995 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Bonriki International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Destinations | 17 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bonriki, South Tarawa, Kiribati | ||||||
| Key people | Tarataake Teannaki (CEO), Tinian Reiher (chairman of the board of directors) | ||||||
| Website | airkiribati.com.ki | ||||||
Air Kiribati Limited is the national airline of Kiribati operating passenger services within the Gilbert Islands of Kiribati, and to Fiji. It also operates charters, medical evacuation and search and rescue services. Its main base is Bonriki International Airport, Tarawa Atoll.
Until 2008, it was the only airline to operate Kiribati domestic routes. In January, 2009, a new airline was established, Coral Sun Airways, that also flies to all of the Gilbert Islands.
The airline was established and started operations on 1 April 1995, after the collapse of the previous national airline Air Tungaru, which had been formed on 31 October 1977. In March 2004, Air Kiribati ended its international operations. It is owned 100% by the government of Kiribati.
Air Kiribati operates domestic flights linking all the Gilbert Islands. The Line Islands and Phoenix Islands, with 41,000 and 8,809 inhabitants, respectively are too far from the Gilbert Islands to be considered commercially viable to serve these from Tarawa although Air Kiribati's only rival airline, domestic Coral Sun Airways, was examining the purchase of a new aircraft capable of flying Tarawa-Kiritimati. It is possible to fly Tarawa to Kiritimati, but only via Fiji. Kiritimati, Line Islands, was served, until 2004, by Aloha Airlines from Honolulu on behalf of Air Kiribati until Aloha went out of business. From 4 October 2005, a new service was commenced by Air Pacific, now Fiji Airways, every Tuesday, from Honolulu, with 24 places chartered on each flight by Air Kiribati. In 2008 this service was suspended because of deterioration of the surface of the Kiritimati runway, which had been deemed unsafe after an inspection by Air Pacific personnel and specialist runway engineers; service resumed on 25 May 2010. During the suspension an American company, Te Mauri Travel, offered "interim" charter flights to Kiritimati. Kiritimati is now served regularly by a weekly Fiji Airways return service from Nadi-Kiritimati-Honolulu.
...
Wikipedia